The Detroit Lions have a number of players making good cases for postseason honors, but perhaps none is as good as Aidan Hutchinson’s.
Hutchinson, a rookie, has been a force, making an immeasurable impact on the team and piling up stats every week. His body of work probably will lead to his being named Defensive Rookie of the Year, according to Heavy Sports’ Matt Lombardo.
“Aidan Hutchinson is really, really good. He’s getting better every week,” Lombardo tweeted on December 11. Now 7.0 sacks, after a huge 3rd down sack and heavy pressure on the next play to force an incompletion and turnover on downs. Probably an easy Defensive Rookie of The Year, already a top-flight pass-rusher.”
Aidan Hutchinson is really, really good. He’s getting better every week. Now 7.0 sacks, after a huge 3rd down sack and heavy pressure on the next play to force an incompletion and turnover on downs.
Probably an easy Defensive Rookie of The Year, already a top-flight pass-rusher
Hutchinson already has two honors to his name: NFC Defensive Player of the Week for Week 11 (when he had three tackles, an interception and a fumble recovery against the Giants) and Rookie of the Month for November.
Hutchinson has lived in the backfield, affecting other teams’ passing games.
“Aidan Hutchinson looks like the real deal,” MLive’s Benjamin Raven wrote on November 15. “He’s started to play from the two-point stance more and showed why against the Bears with his improved awareness. Hutchinson pressured Fields, then dropped back in coverage to help force the pick-six interception.”
Hutchinson Enjoyed Another Major Day for Lions
Against the Minnesota Vikings on December 11, Hutchinson stepped up when the team needed him the most. With the Lions up 28-13 early in the fourth quarter, Minnesota had a first-and-10 at the Lions’ 16-yard line. Hutchinson burst around the edge to bowl over quarterback Kirk Cousin for his seventh sack of the season, which is tops among rookies.
The Wolverine got him!
#MINvsDET | 📺 FOX | #ProBowlVote | @aidanhutch97
Two plays later, on third-and-17, Hutchinson sniffed out what Minnesota was doing on a short pass, forcing Cousins to make an awkward throw out of play. On the day, Hutchinson had a sack, two tackles for loss and two quarterback hits.
“I feel like our young guys are growing,” said head coach Dan Campbell, according to NFL.com’s Jim Trotter, “and the faster they grow, the better we’ve gotten.”
Hutchinson’s Competition for Rookie of the Year
The list of Defensive Rookie of the Year candidates is not all that long, which could help Hutchinson’s chances of take home the hardware.
Tariq Woolen, the Seattle Seahawks’ interception king at cornerback, might be the player Hutchinson has to fear the most. Woolen has been a revelation for the Seahawks, posting six interceptions and 37 tackles.
New York Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner has not played like a rookie, either. He has put up 54 tackles and two interceptions. Statistically, he hasn’t been as solid as Woolen in some areas, but he has locked down plenty of players at a difficult position.
Hutchinson has put up 35 tackles, seven sacks and two interceptions.
“The chemistry we’ve got right now, it’s kind of unmatched,” Hutchinson said, according to a December 12 story by NBC Sports’ Peter King. “We’re so complimentary right now offensively and defensively and we never flinch at the end. It’s no longer the same old Lions. We’ve overcome that. Now we’re on our way to becoming a really good football team.”
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Insider Makes Major Prediction About Aidan Hutchinson’s Award Hopes